Hitachi, Ltd.

Hitachi Computer Engineering Co., Ltd.

Nippon T&t Corp.

Kenji Tokumitsu

Harukazu Miyamoto

Hiroyuki Minemura

Kazuo Shigematsu

Makoto Miyamoto

Nobuhiro Tokushuku

Tetsuya Ikeda

Yasunori Kaneda

Michio Miyazaki

Takashi Doi

Norimoto Ichikawa

Yuji Yamane

Nobuyoshi Izawa

Teruo Noro

Toru Takeda

Fumihiro Harigai

Makoto Seita

Before original information is recorded in areas such as a recording medium management area where the same pattern of information is recorded many times, a dummy pattern that minimizes a recording film flow is recorded. Because the direction of the recording film flow depends on the length of a mark length, the dummy pattern is a pattern including marks with a unique length. Randomly or sequentially selecting and recording a plurality of dummy patterns, each with a recording film flow direction different from others, prevents jitters, which will be caused by the recording film flow, from increasing.

Method for recording information, apparatus for recording information and information recording medium

Method for recording information, apparatus for recording information, and information recording medium

Storage apparatus using removable media and its read/write control method

Information is recorded on a rewritable optical disk apparatus in accordance with the second generation 5 inch rewritable-type optical disks standards that provide for reusing once-defective user blocks. Such disks have a user data recording region, a replacement recording region and a replacement control information recording region in which a table of information linking defective blocks in the user data recording region with replacement blocks in the replacement recording region is stored. Continuity of the distribution of the replacement recording blocks is maintained by treatment of replacement blocks that become unnecessary. Unnecessary replacement blocks are ones that are not used for storing data because of the subsequent successful recording of data in once defective user blocks to which the replacement blocks were previously linked. Such unnecessary replacement blocks are treated as being defective if a following assigned replacement block exists in the replacement block recording region and they are used in links with other defective user blocks and assigned replacement blocks. In addition to maintaining continuous distribution of the replacement blocks as required by the second generation standard, fewer replacement blocks are required to be used.

Method of controlling recording information on an optical disk using

In an optical information recording method and apparatus for performing the pre-write testing of test data for an optical recording medium connected to a host computer, an instruction for pre-write testing of test data inclusive of two predetermined continuous signals is received independently from a write command from the host computer. The pre-write testing of the test data is performed by supplying different laser driving currents for plural ones of pre-write testing areas of the optical recording medium to an optical information recording head in accordance with the pre-write testing instruction. The respective pre-write testing data are reproduced to determine a difference in an average voltage level between the two continuous signals of each test data. The laser driving current supplied for the pre-write testing of the test data indicative of the smallest value of the difference is set as a laser driving current which is to be supplied to the optical information recording head when the recording of user data is to be performed. A time interval until the next pre-write testing of test data is set in accordance with the set laser driving current. With the above construction, the pre-write testing can be eliminated at every write command requested from the host computer.

Optical recording and reproducing apparatus for controlling a laser

Method for controlling information recording in an information recording apparatus which includes a rewritable information record medium containing a data record area having a plurality of data recording blocks and an alternative area in which data to be written into a defective block in the data record area is written, and writing and reading of data to and from the blocks and erasing of data may be carried out, wherein, data is written into the respective blocks in the data record area on the information record medium, and if a data record error is detected, data to be written into the defect block is written into a block of the alternative area. When data is subsequently rewritten, contents of all blocks in the data record area to be rewritten, including the block previously determined to be defective, are erased and the new data is rewritten, and the content of the alternative area is erased. If a data record error is detected after rewriting, the data to be written into the defect block is written into a block in the alternative area.

Information recording control system reusing a defective area

Growing community of inventors

Odawara, Japan

Kenji Tokumitsu